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What was the impact of the "Ain't I a Woman?" speech delivered by Sojourner Truth?
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Sojourner Truth
To make money, abolitionist and women's rights advocate Sojourner Truth sold cartes-de-visite of herself that bore the caption, βI sell the shadow to support the substance.β
While the exact phrase "Ain't I a Woman?" was likely not spoken by Sojourner Truth, her 1851 speech at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention remains a powerful indictment of race and gender-based power structures. Though the precise words are lost to history, the speech, as transcribed, highlighted the inequalities faced by women, particularly Black women, in 19th-century America. Truth, a former enslaved person and advocate for abolition and women's rights, used her oratorical skills to challenge prevailing notions of womanhood and demand equal treatment. The speech continues to be recognized for its prescient critique of societal injustices.12